Candidates in NA-133, Lahore are holding corner meetings and going door to door in order to enlist the support of maximum number of people as today (Friday) is the last day of electioneering for the by-election to be held in the constituency day after tomorrow (December 5), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.  

An extremely close contest is expected between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shaista Pervez Malik and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Aslam Gill. 

There are as many as 254 polling stations in the constituency, out of which 200 are exclusively for men and women while 54 are mixed. 

Elaborate security plan prepared

Meanwhile, the law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) have drawn up a security plan in view of the by-poll in NA-133 as six superintendents of police (SPs) as well as 14 deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) will perform their duties under the command of SSP Operations on the election day. 

CCPO, Lahore has said that in all, over two thousand police officers and constables will provide security on the day.   

“As many as 44 SHOs, 52 Dolphin Police personnel and seven teams of the Quick Response Unit will be deployed,” he said, and added, “A special control room has been set up at Graduate College for Women, Township.”

He went on to add that SPs and DSPs had been ordered to check the polling stations in order to provide foolproof security to them. “Apart from that, CCTV cameras have also been installed to keep an eye on miscreants,” he elaborated. 

Not a single person applied for postal ballot

Voters in the constituency are showing little interest in postal balloting as Returning Officer (RO) Syed Basit Ali Shah has not received a single application for the ballot papers so far.

According to the RO, civil and military officers, government as well as private department employees and prisoners living in the constituency could have submitted their applications by November 19, but not a single such application was received by the due date, showing there was not great enthusiasm in people about the by-poll. “Around 3, 000 postal ballot papers have been printed on the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the by-election in NA-133,” he concluded.  

Reporters Rao Dilshad Hussain and Abid Chaudhry